The arc of the rope swing: humour, poetry, and spirituality in Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

Abstract

This essay analyzes the classic American children’s novel, Charlotte’s Web, by E.B. White, which tells of a sophisticated spider’s rescue of a piglet who is being prepared for slaughter. The ‘arc of the rope swing' refers to a rope swing enjoyed by children in the novel; it is also a metaphor for the way White holds opposing forces in tension. Most noteworthy is the tension between poetic language and humour in the novel; White uses both to convey a sense of ultimate goodness and trust-in-being. Poetic language sets a contemplative tone (‘poetic pauses’) and conveys spiritual themes, including delight, wonder at the beauty of the natural world, ‘divine discontent’ (yearning), memento mori, sorrow and hope. In contrast, White’s ‘gracious humour’ is fast-paced and entertaining; it keeps the novel from being too preachy or solemn. His humour includes 1) wordplay (including the juxtaposition of incongruous words and images; dramatic irony; and puns ), 2) comedic characters (Wilbur as lovable buffoon, Charlotte as incisive wisdom figure) and 3) satire (scorn for human gullibility, arrogance and poor treatment of animals). White sharply satirises human arrogance and demonstrates the value of humility (embodied in Charlotte and Wilbur). The article also contains brief summaries of Charlotte's Web and of White's biography, and it concludes with a substantial set of “talking points” for discussing the novel’s spiritual themes with children.

Keywords:

• Humour
• trust in being
• memento mori
• children’s literature
• humility

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank her writing partner, the fiction writer Patty Houston (of the University of Cincinnati), and Israel McMahan (age 9) for their immeasurable help in revising this essay.

Notes

1. All subsequent page numbers refer to the original U S edition of Charlotte’s Web published in 1952 by Harper and Row, with illustrations by Garth Brooks. Neumeyer’s The Annotated Charlotte’s Web (1995) retains the same pagination as White’s 1952 edition, as do most of the critical sources I encountered.

2. Solheim (1994) first got me thinking about the rope swing. She explores humour and imagery in Charlotte’s Web as well.

3. Strictly speaking, the storyteller or narrator of a novel is not the same as the author. However, the novel’s distinctive narrative voice is so similar to the voice of White’s essays that I use the terms interchangeably.

4. Among the cast of many distinctive animal characters, only three are actually named: Charlotte, Wilbur and Templeton.

5. The three children’s books were Charlotte’s Web (1952), Stuart Little (1945) and The Trumpet of the Swan (1970). The latter two are suitable for children aged 10 and older. Critics generally regard Charlotte’s Web as having the most depth; White revised it the most, and it best reflects his direct experience of farm life.

6. The Elledge biography includes a photograph of White’s writing in his 10′ × 15′ boat house (Elledge 1986, 282). Many readers, myself included, do not think of Thoreau as a funny writer, yet Elledge points out that White called Thoreau the ‘subtlest humorist of the nineteenth century’ (Elledge 1986, 314). Thoreau himself believed that one gains access to ‘true wisdom by … abandonment, and childlike mirthfulness’ (Thoreau, Journals, entry for 6 May 1864). White also shared Thoreau’s love of nature, ecology, and the personal essay genre (See Thoreau sources under References).

7. White spoke of himself as a farmer who wrote on the side. In fact, he did farm chores, but at his wife’s insistence, he also employed a caretaker, cook and more – hardly typical of Maine farmers. See Elledge (1986).

8. White uses the phrase ‘religious emotions without religious imagery’ to describe Thoreau in White’s essay, ‘A Slight Sound at Evening’, written in honour of Walden’s 100th anniversary in 1954 (White 1962).

9. Niemeyer connects the novel to the Western tradition of pastoral poetry which reaches back to the Greeks, while biographer Elledge notes the influence of Wordsworth, Blake, Proust and especially Thoreau. Yates focuses on the influence of transcendentalists Emerson, Thoreau and Whitman, poets all (1994).

10. White insisted that Garth Williams illustrate Charlotte and Wilbur and the other creatures with scientific accuracy; he forbade sentimental cuteness. He also was adamant that the animals not be ‘Disney-fied’ or anthropomorphised in the film versions.

11. See Emerson’s reference to ‘divine discontent’ in his essay on ‘The Oversoul’ and elsewhere (1841). The phrase brings to mind Wordsworth’s ‘intimations of immortality’ from his famous poem of the same name.

12. White recognised the inconsistency of nurturing and loving a farm animal, only to butcher it; see his widely anthologised essay, ‘The Death of a Pig.’ He has been taken to task by critics (such as Ratelle 2014) regarding his mixed views of meat-eating in regard to animal rights. We can only guess at what White (who wrote this in 1950) would say about the subsequent rise of factory farms.

13. The characters communicate via actual winks: Charlotte winks at the old sheep (123), Fern winks at Charlotte at the fair (147), and Wilbur winks at Charlotte shortly before she dies (171).

14. In all three novels, White puts fancy language into the mouths of his mock-pretentious protagonists: Stuart Little describes Margalo, the lovable bird he is trying to find: ‘She comes from fields once tall with wheat, from pastures deep in fern and thistle; she comes from vales of meadowsweet, and she loves to whistle’ (White 1945, 128). Louis, the mute swan in The Trumpet of the Swan, writes on his slate, ‘The sky is my living room. The woods are my parlor. The lonely lake is my bath. I can’t remain behind a fence all my life’ (White 1970, 200).

15. For more discussion questions to use with children, see Landes and Flender’s superb literature guide (1989). It offers chapter-by-chapter questions (and answers), as well as many ideas for projects and writing assignments, geared to grades 4–5 (ages 9–11). It is relevant to younger ages as well.

16. Children might be interested to know that White had many health problems (asthma and allergies) and he was extremely afraid of public speaking. During the last 20 years of her life, his wife Katharine was so sick she couldn’t get out of bed, causing White much sadness and worry. See Elledge (1986).